A common cause of nasal obstruction is narrow nasal passages within a nasal cavity. Narrow nasal passages can be due to common problems with a nasal septum, turbinates and sinuses of the nose. The nasal septum is a structure that divides the nasal passages into right and left sides. The turbinates are located on the infero-lateral walls of the nasal cavity. When the turbinates are too large they can cause nasal obstruction, snoring, rhinosinusitis and obstructive sleep apnea. Inferior turbinates most commonly affect airflow of the nasal passages. Airflow of the nasal passages can be improved by reducing a size of the inferior turbinates tissues (turbinectomy) and by altering a position of inferior conchal bone and its erectile tissues or turbinates (inferior turbinate lateralization) to allow more air flow while keeping natural functions of the tubinates.
The traditional surgical procedure for performing inferior turbinate lateralization results in bleeding as the inferior turbinates are highly vascular. Electrical burning of tissues (cautery) is required stop such bleeding. Consequently, pediatric patients cannot go for turbinate reduction surgeries, while lateralization is a good and safe choice. In addition, patients with cardiac issues including patients having a pacemaker can't undergo the surgical excision procedures which may need cauterization. This disclosure relates to a surgical instrument in the field of rhinology and maxillofacial surgery for performing inferior turbinate lateralization.